Your Average Sunset
by W0llflower
Summary: Ellie Dennis is a girl who lost everything, her dad was murdered when she was nine, her mom is a confused drunk who stays busy with work all through the week, and her best friend dally died after he moved to Tulsa. After she ask her mom if they can move to Tulsa in search of some of Dallas's old friends she meets the gang and feels like she finally has a family again.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: So this is the first fan fiction that I've ever really written let alone posted online so excuse me if its not that good. Also review and let me know what you think of it, I'm a pretty insecure person especially with my writing so if you have any suggestions and complements maybe review and let me know. thank you people of earth! oh and sorry if you don't like it, but I love the outsiders just as much as you do, maybe even more.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the outsiders, just my character!**_

**xXx**

Chapter 1

It was 12:30 am, my back was strained and sore for all the unpacking I did today. Especially since I was unpacking alone. When we first got to Tulsa my mom started applying for jobs like there was no tomorrow, we hadn't been here four days until she had five jobs and was working all through the week. My mom normally likes to save the weekends for herself. She calls it " mommy's happy time" although there's nothing motherly or peaceful about getting violently drunk every weekend and beating your daughter. Today I finished unpacking the kitchen which has to be the biggest room in our kind of tiny run down home, my mom and I have never been real fortunate. You see after my dad died my mom had some trouble supporting both of us with all of the small jobs she was only able to get. I guess that's why she drinks on the weekends because its her only escape from stress and society. I think that's how she also tries to cope with my dads death. When he first died she went through depression more serious than anything. she would put on slow Elvis songs, hold herself, rock herself into oblivion while drinking bottles of bourbon day and night. When some of the folks I lived around heard about this, well they threatened my mom to call child services and take me away to a girls home. I don't know what made her sober up a little to start working but she did soon enough and busied herself with jobs. I was real glad she did I was beginning to think she didn't love me at all. I couldn't imagine being in a girls home, and in New York at that.

Yes, New York. Born and raised. Even though I'm awful shy around folks I don't know real well I still hung around a lot of people. In the city I had connections, its weird considering I'm shy and quite but my dad knew a lot of people in the city and so did my mom. When their pals heard they were tying the knot they said their kid would be legendary. I'm far from it. I loved new York it was my home. the city gave off a pretty chill vibe if you knew the streets well enough and had more friend than enemies.

The only thing bad about my part of the city was the really bad murder rap. That's the reason we moved. My mom said she didn't want me getting mixed up in all that crazy shenanigans. My moms the only thing that confuses me in life. Yeah she gets drunks and beats me but she's not like that all the time. If I'm lucky some weekends she wont even go near a drink. She'll wake me up in the morning and make me breakfast, take me out to have fun at the zoo or even the carnival or local fair. If we stay home she'll read me my favorite childhood books and takes naps with me. it may sound kid-ish but it means an awful lot when your mom has been mentally absent since the age of eight. And at night she'll tuck me and her in my bed and sing to me. Its complicated but simple at the same time. The simple part is I love her and she loves me, she's just been through a lot in life and came out messed up. if I had one wish I would go back in time and stop all those things from happening to her, but we all know that sixteen and a half isn't the age for wishing.

I sat down on the couch I moved in yesterday and smoked a cigarette for a little while to relax then put it out to go take a shower. As I let the hot water hit my back I realized how late it was and my mom wasn't back yet, it was Saturday, technically Sunday since it was one am. Thank god my mom went to bars this weekend to drown her sorrows in pools of liquor, I wouldn't wanna show up on the first day of school with bruises all over my face. When I dry off I put on warm pajamas and head to bed. I close my eyes and feel the cool breeze gently swipe across my face as I relax and quickly fall asleep. I dream about my dad that night, smiling, laughing, cracking jokes making everybody smile. Including my mom.

**_A/N: Sooooooo how was it? sorry if its too short but I was trying to explain her background and where she's from. Also sorry for the title I know its tacky but I'm not really that good with titles :p And don't forget to review my lovely's, I would love to know if someone other than my friend likes it. also sorry if it takes me forever to update because I have this written on paper and I have to copy it. See ya! _**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: So I'm just gonna apologize in advance for my story if it gets boring and seems long and pointless, but alas I promise it gets better! so make sure to read and review annnnd lemme know what you think! _**

**xXx**

My eyes popped open when I heard my loud radio go off, indicating it was eight thirty am and time to get up. I felt the warm sunlight splash across my face as it slowly crept through the curtains. I sat up slowly and swung my legs over the bed, slowly rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I sat back for a minute and tried to think of what to do today. I was tired of unpacking and I didn't really wanna wait around the house until my mom came home swaying drunk let alone stick around if she was already here. My mom usually wasn't as drunk on Sundays but I still hated to see her if she wasn't sober, doesn't matter how drunk. Then it hit me. I finally decided I would take a little detour of my town before I started school here on Monday._ Yeah, that didn't sound like such a bad idea _I thought as I started up my shower. Usually it took me an hour or so to get ready because I would never know what to do when it came to my hair. My hair was a light shade of brown and curly yet sort of poufy at the same time, it can be hard to keep down but I usually take care of that with just normal hair grease. When I got out of the shower I tried to tell myself to put at least a small effort into what I wore. I normally don't care about what I wear or anything but I figured I should at least look decent if I was gonna be walking around a town I barley knew about. I decided on a loose white tank top, light blue jeans and white chucks to top if off. I finally went to my closet to get my favorite leather jacket I bought back in queens, its a real tuff jacket, with zippers on the collar and pockets. I walk back over to my bathroom through the door that's right next to my study desk. That's one of the things I like about our new house, it may be tiny but I have my own bathroom. When I first found that out I couldn't wipe the stupid grin off my face, I'm usually a celebrator of the little accomplishments in life. It gives me something to look forward too. I lean across the bathroom counter closer to the mirror so I can get a good look while putting on my mascara. That's really the only makeup I wear besides blush if I'm going somewhere nice or have a date or something. I don't know what it is but I just never got into makeup like most chicks did. I lean away from the counter and take in my full looks. Like I said I have curly long light brown hair that's sort of poufy. I have really black eyes and real short light brown eyelashes (one of the reasons I wear mascara) I'm sort of tall like 5"7 and my body is sort of in between fit and thick, but not really over weight. When I'm done looking my self over I notice that my tank top does show off a little but I don't really feal like changing so I just shrug it off.

I go slowly down the stairs to see if my mom is passed out on the couch. She is. with a dainty glass of wine still in her hand and a bright red lipstick mark across the rim. I downed the rest and thought _hell I have troubles to drown too. _I feel the glass of 1920 vintage wine burn my throat as I cover my mom with a blanket on the couch. _geez she must've been drinking the heavy stuff last night,_ I think as I shake my head and walk out of the door.

**xXx**

I stuffed my hands in my pockets as I walked up the street with a lollipop in my mouth. Wasn't long till I got to what must've been the main part of town. I saw a bunch of different shops and markets and a few restaurants here and there so I decided to walk around here for a bit. I went into a few clothes stores to see what kind of the clothes they had and it kinda surprised me that it was the same style that we had back in new York. Now that I think about it the side of town I lived on was real similar to queens. The whole get up with greased hair and leather jackets, beat up cars, you know the whole nine yards. Even though I was never really one to try and fit in, looks to me like I wouldn't even have to here. I went into the market to get a Pepsi when a small group of guys were eyeing me down and whistling when I walked through the door. I just decided to shake my head and get what I came for. They followed me around the store a little and even after I paid for my Pepsi and walked out. I cursed to myself for not changing my tank top this morning. When I got outside I popped the cap of my Pepsi off on a loose piece of metal outlining the display window. That had to be the tuffest trick I learned from my mom. I took a slow sip from my drink and turned around giving them a glare that made them put their heads down and walk off muttering. I smiled contently to my self and thought about going to see a movie. When I walked over to the movie house it turns out they were having an oldies day, mainly movies from the early fifties. I look back at the clock to see if I have time for a few movies, its noon now so I guess I do. I go up to the ticket booth and buy one for a three movie marathon. I decided on Cinderella, Othello, and show boat, pretty good classics. I figured five or six hours would be enough time wasted before the sun started to set. I loved sunsets, I never went a day without watching them. Usually I don't sleep real well if I don't watch one, almost like its a lullaby, that's why I try not to miss them. In new York I would always watch them with my best friend Dallas. I miss dal more than anything really, he died about years ago and I still cant get over it. I still remember when I found out. His dad had called and told me that he had died the night before and I screamed at him before slamming the phone down, I ran to my room locked it and stayed there for a few days just crying my heart out. Dallas didn't have anyone really in this world except me and my family, it broke my heart that even his old man didn't care about him, he didn't even sound heartbroken over the phone. I don't care what anyone else said about him, dal didn't deserve to die. If you cant tell already saying that I cared for Dallas Winston wouldn't be enough, I loved him he wasn't only my best friend but basically the brother I never had. When my dad died I didn't really have anyone else to look after me, and with my mom drunk and in despair he was really all I had. When dally moved out here to Tulsa I was upset enough, but when he died out here I had an even bigger nervous break down.

The last movie I see I Cinderella and It leaves me dazed about love. I'm not a girly girl who's always thinking about guys but it was always Cinderella that had me thinking about them. I always thought about when I would finally find my prince, its corny but its how I feel. Yeah I've dated a few guys but they were all just goons that lived in my neighborhood, not anything special. I walk out of the theater and look at the clock on the ticket booth, its six thirty now and judging from the sun its about to set in like half an hour, perfect timing. I thought about waking to this hill I saw a couple blocks from the vacant lot I passed walking into town. I pull out another lollipop, pop it in my mouth and the sugar and cherry flavor relax me. That's another obsession I have, lollipops. They remind me of when I was a kid, bring back my innocence for a few minutes. My dad had a thing for lollipops too only he would call them lollies . When I was sad or crying about something he would just hand me a lollipop and hold me, the thing is he didn't even have to say anything to make me happy again, just hold me and hand me a lollipop. Some times if he ate to many my mom would always say _"Travis if you eat anymore candy your teeth are gonna fall out an you'll get diabetes." _then I would say _"and you'll get too huge to hold daddy."_ he would just smile and say _" Are you kiddin', lollies make the world go round."_ I had to be honest I did miss my dad more than Dallas. But why did they both have to leave me.

**xXx**

I'm walking past the lot when I hear someone whistle. I look to my left and see three guys hanging around in the lot, chucking under their breath and looking down except for one. I kept walking until I heard I think one of them say "hey baby you wanna spend sometime with us?" I looked back over at the boys and the one in a mickey shirt gave me a subtle wink while the other two were just looking down and laughing. Shoot I'm the shyest girl in the world. Why in my right mind would I go over there? But then again I haven't met anyone new all day and It would be kind of weird showing up at school not knowing absolutely anyone. I softly bite down on my lip and shove my hands deeper in my jean pockets, I put my head down and don't walk ten steps before I hear the guy say " Aww come on babe, you should get to know me before you walk away. I don't bite." at this I bring my head slightly up but its still down. I look at him and he's put on a puppy face, with his lip poked out and all. He gets a light laugh out of me and I decided to walk over there. On the inside I'm screaming at myself but my body just keeps walking towards the figures. There's no way that meeting them would do me any justice to knowing someone at school because all three of them look they they're in their twenties. They all have greased hair just like the folks in New York. The one in the mickey shirt had sideburns and a light rusty brown color hair and he was pretty well built. The next one had huge muscles we was pretty tall and he had dark hair and looked like he had green eyes. The last one had real light brown hair, almost dirty blonde, he was slimmer than the others but he was toned and he was kinda tall and he had real nice brown eyes. Wow. He sure was handsome. I didn't know I was staring at him until the one in the mickey shirt said " Wow looks like someone has the hots for you soda!" my face grows hot and the hot guy with big muscles slaps the one I was staring at on the back.

"so what's your name doll?" the one in the mickey shirt asks me

"Ellie but everyone calls me ell." I say quickly and quietly. I tried to urge myself to not be so shy but I cant help it.

"Well I'm Two-bit Mathews by the way!" he says so loud I'm sure Cambodia could've heard him. The other two quickly introduced themselves after.

"I'm Steve... Randle." says the one with big muscles

"I'm Sodapop Curtis." said the one with the nice brown eyes with a huge smile plastered across his face.

"I love your name." I surprise myself with saying along with a smile and a light laugh.

"So how are you doing this fine evening miss?" Steve says asking for my last name

"Dennis." I say finishing his sentence with a nod

"Ellie Dennis." Soda says confirming my name " I love it." he says with a sweet smile while holding out his hand. I kindly shake it then return the smile, then I shake two-bits and Steve's hand.

"So Sodapop-" I start

"Just call me soda babe." He says winking with buckets of charm in his eye. I look down for a quick second while I turn a light shade of pink.

"So Soda." I say emphasizing the soda "do ya live around here?"

"Yeah me and my brothers live a little down the street, how bout yourself?"

"The same, I just moved here about a week ago." I say nodding

"Well that explains why we've never seen you around the block." Steve says. I nod in agreement and after that we just talk about living in New York and Tulsa. I tell them about my dad dying but not about my moms drinking, I just tell them she's never home and always busy. I though about asking them about dal. when he moved to Tulsa I heard he had a few fellas out here and I was gonna ask them if they knew who they were but I told myself to forget about it. I did notice that two-bit sure does flirt a lot, but that's okay, he's one of the funniest guys I've ever met. I think me and Steve will be real good friends, we both hate rich, good for nothing, stuck up people, with a passion. They just call them socs here. And as for soda he's the bees knees! He loves cars and drag racing and making people smile. Sure he's a looker but who's focused on looks when someone's personality shines through like that. By the time I get up to leave for the hill to catch the sunset I'm hugging them. I hug two-bit first, he holds my waist with his hands and kisses my neck. "Keep it in your pants Mathews." I say and give him a glare

"Sorry doll, cant help myself." he says cocking an eyebrow with a smile on his face. I playfully punch his arm but still make sure I do it hard. I go to hug Steve and he squeezes me in a friendly way. When I hug soda he puts one hand on the small of my back which causes me to turn light pink.

" See you around kiddo." he says with a smile and a wink. I really liked these guys, they were real friendly and comforting. They gave off a pretty chill vibe and I hope I see them again. when I get a good distance between them I turn around and wave back and they all smile and wink in unison. That causes a light blush from me. My blushes always show real well and that's kind of a surprise. I mean my skin is kinda light brown you could sort of tell. See my dad was African-American and native American which kinda explains how he died. He was out for a walk one night when some racist prick pointed a gun at him and blew his heart out. My dad is sort of the reason I have an obsession with sunsets, they remind me of him. Peaceful, radiant, beautiful, and gold.

**_A/N: So what did you think?! yeah I know this was pretty long but I really wanted to stress her background and stuff so yeah. Sorry if you didn't like it or thought it was boring but I promise that excitement awaits in the next chapter! Oh and I gotta get those reviews people!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_ A/N: Hey guys so before i start just wanted to apologize real quick for either grammer or spelling errors in earlier chapters and maybe other chapters because I have to type this on my phone and that's pretty hard and Im most likely gonna mess up. Also I wanted to clear up that this story takes place three years after johnny and dally die so have fun reading!_**

****_This weather will be the sure death of me. _I thought as tried to speed walk to the hill, huging my leather jacket closer to my bare arms. My body sure was cconfused on how to feel about this weather. One moment I'm hotter than a sauna the next I'm colder than president Nixon's smile (a/n: don't take that joke as a serious one I thought I would be kinda funny to put that in). I guess my bodys just going through a fit because I'm so used to New York weather. But man the whether here sure was something. I finally get to the hill and i plop down on on the grass. I bring my knees up o my chest and cross my arms

I thought about how different the cold was in the city. Its was more of a still cold. A still, slow biting cold that could creep up on you easy. Tulsa's cold was quick and sharp. The wind alone could cut through you like a switchblade. As soon as i focus on the scene adhead of me im lost in its perfection.

The hill is over looking the town and it looks beautiful with a light glow starting to emit from it. To make it look even better the Sun was setting behind it and the sky was too beautiful for words. It was streaked with faint wisp of clouds and had cool colors or purple, pink and orange all blended together and near the sun you could see sploches of dark blue staring to take over. Every thing was truly amazing but you had to admit the stars stole the show. They were brighter and whiter than ever but you could only see them in the sploches of purple and blue.

If anyone had asked me it would have been impossible for me to tear my eyes away from the angelic sight. I wish my dad and dally were here with me, watching what had to be the most beautiful thing known to man. My dad loved dallas, maybe even more than me cause anyone who knew dallas knew It took a whole lot of love to try and keep him out of trouble, and that's what my dad did for the most part. I put another sucker in my mouth and thought about what a passionate man my dad was. Sure he loved a lot of things but I think he loved sunsets the most. He even taught me a poem once that reminded me of him and the sun. Without a thought I began to mouth the words.

"Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsidies to leaf,

So eden sank to grief.

So dawn goes down to day-"

"Nothing gold can stay." A soft steady cuts through my thoughts.

**xXx**

I must've been awful deep in wonderland to be thinking aloud for the whole world to here me. I slowly turn around to see who the voice belonged to but I don't see anyone. It was inevitable that I would go crazy, but this soon? I shrugged and turned back to the angelic sight and front of me. I crossed my legs and slouched over resting my chin on my palm. Just as I began to relax and slowly close my eyes I hear it again.

"B-beautiful I-isn't it." The voice says so shy and innocent I could've swore it was a little kid. This time I snap my eyes open and turn my neck around so quick I swear I gave myself whiplash. And again I don't see anyone, I say a few curse words for good measure and turn back around.

"Uh right here." The voice says clearing its throat and tapping my right shoulder. I turn around slowly this time and see a kid standing next to me on my right. I look up at him and notice he has dirty blonde hair that's shorter than most people have theirs around here. He has greenish gray eyes but mostly green. He sorta looks to be an inch or two taller than me. It was captivating how is skin seemed to look, like the setting sun was making it have a healthy glow. I moved my eyes down and saw he was wearing a blue and green plaid button up with a white shirt underneath and the coller was up along with his long sleeves up to his elbows. He had dark blue jeans and white chucks. To make the most complicated thing sound simple, he made and average outfit look like something only gods would wear.

I'm not sure if I was staring at him or not but he just gave me a rather gorgeous smile and ploped down next to me. After he sat down there was an awkward but peaceful silence as we looked back over at the gleaming sun.

"You know Robert Frost." I say although its more of a statement than a question. Not many boys in queens knew Robert Frost or poetry for that matter so its kind of nice that I'm not the only one now.

"I know some but I've known that poem for years. I used to never know what it meant. Now it just reminds me of my buddy." he tells me quite and soft. "So whats yer name?" He asks quickly after.

"Dennis, Ellie Dennis, but friends call me ells and real close friends call me ell." I joke with a light smile. It was pretty weird how just then a plane went flying over us and it got real loud.

"My name Ponyboy Curtis." He said in my ear. The feeling of his lips brushing against my ear sent shivers down my spine.

"Your sodas brother." I say raising my eyebrows and shaking off the feeling. Celebrating that the plane had passed.

"Yep. You know em?"

"Well yeah, we actually just met before I came to this hill. Plus you guys look an awful lot alike." I tell him with a quick nod. I see his ears get a little red and smile a little and look back over at the sun.

"Your new here right?" He ask slowly

"Yeah moved here about a week ago."

"What made your folks move you out here for?"

"Well its just me and my mom and I guess I was the one that wanted to move out here really."

"So where did you move from?"

"New York actually. Now I realize it may take a while to get used to it." I tell him with a small laugh. He smiles back and keeps trying to play twenty questions

"Why would ya wanna move all the way from the city to some small town?" Is eyes couldn't be filled with more curiosity and need to know. I guess I wanted to know myself why I was here.

"My best friend lived out here." I pause for a second allowing myself to swallow hard. "He died out here too." I brought my knees back up to my chest and crossed my arms. He didn't say another word or ask another question so I just kept going. Ignoring my conscience telling me to shut up and that I didn't know this guy. White hot tears threatened to spill over, I hated that I was never good with keeping my emotions In. Especially when it comes to Dallas.

"Once I heard he died I swear I stoped living myself." I continue choking back tears and swallowing hard again. "We were moving anyways so I told my mom tulsa Oklahoma. I guess I thought I would come and see if he had any pals out here. Hell I know he's not one to put himself out there with a friendly handshake but..." I wasn't sure how to continue. I finally let my tears roll down my cheeks allowing the cold I forgot about to cut through my jacket and nearly freeze me to death. I was never a loud cryer. I always did it quite once I learned how to. I figured it just hurt less. Like the pain wouldn't be there if I couldn't hear myself.

"Well what was his name. I could help you find out if he had any pals around here." Ponyboy tells me with so much hurt in his voice and eyes. I wonder if he's ever lost someone like I lost dal, I would think he has, the look in his soft green eyes isn't sympathy its empathy.

"Dallas Winston." I say wiping my cheeks. I still had my head down and It got real quite. I waited for ponyboy to say something but again silence. I finally decided to bring my head up and when I did I surprised my self and started busting out laughing. His face was pricless! His mouth was wide open in the shape of an "O" and it looked like some of his color went away too, his eyes even looked like they would pop out at any given moment. When I finally regained some strength I sat up holding my stomach, wiping at the tear drop forming in the corner of my eye.

"Ponyboy you gonna be okay you look like you just saw the most unholy thing on earth." I manage to get out between small gasp of laughter.

"D-did you say Dallas Winston?" Pony says, studdering like a little kid again but with strong intensity in his eyes. My face goes cold and my palms start to get a little moist.

"Ye-yeah pone. What's up?" My breathing comes out shakey and I try to calm myself down with another remark " can I call you pone?" I give a smile with a light laugh trying to lighten the mood because I always hated it when things got too serious for me. He wins at my game however and goes back to his normal state almost immediately. He gives me another award winning smile.

"You can call me anything you want doll." I hear him say in one of the coolest tones I've ever heard almost as close to dally's. I feel my cheeks grow hotter and try to think of a smart way to retort.

"So here's the deal Ell, can I call you Ell?" He says raising an eyebrow and biting his bottom lip. I swallowed hard. I normally don't develop crushes easy. All the goons I dated I had been friends with for a while and I just figured I'd give it a shot. But pony was different, he made my stomach go all weird and made my heart race just by raising his eyebrows. I'm not sure if he was trying to flirt or what but he sure was doing a damn good job at it. I brought out another sucker and popped it in my mouth.

"As long as I can call you pone." I say trying to pull the sucker out of my mouth in a seductive way. Boy was I bad at this stuff. I start to softy chew on my lip to keep from screaming at myself. I knew I should've ask dal for flirting lessons before he moved out here. Then again dallas didn't have to flirt long before he was askin a broad how she liked her eggs. If he even cared enough to make her breakfast. Pony gives me a huge smile before he perks up to speak.

"So tell ya what Ell." Pony says emphasizing the Ell. "I know a few guys that were Dallas' s buddies before he... ya know passed. I could take you too meet them if you like." He says leaning back on his arms

"What are their names?" I ask with my mouth going dry

"Welllll. One of them is Ponyboy Curtis." I look at him and see concern deep in his eyes. I think I started to breath heavier and my plams got pretty sweaty.

"P-ponyboy. I. I don't know what to say." I paused for a minute. My breathing starting to get uneven. "Hell. I dunno what to think. Golly. " I really didn't know what to think. My mind went blank. I always thought that when I found someone who knew dal the words would just flow out naturally. But now that its happening...

"You don't have to think or say anything." He gets up and holds his hand out to me "just come with me." I don't know what it is about him that makes him so different from other guys but pony was special and I hope he didn't leave me like every one else did.

**_A/N: Yeah I know I'm really bad with endings but go ahead and review and lemme know whatcha guys think! Also ponys a little ooc in this story because he's like 17 and I wanted him to be a little more outgoing and more of a flirt. So read and review ! Do it for Johnny guys!_**


	4. Authors note!

_**A/N: Hey guys so I'm just gonna be blunt and say that I'm done with this story I guess. I don't think its really that good and it doesnt seem like many people like it. So if your wondering maybe why I'm not updating, thats why! Oh and if this maybe gets a few more reviews I MIGHT update it. (But I doubt it will)**_

_**-Adios! **_


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